Conveyor systems generally serve to convey items along a predetermined path. Typically, conveyor systems are primarily made up of a rigid frame comprising a pair of parallel side walls, or beams, or side rails, transversely connected by a series of spaced apart support brackets or connector bars. However, the actual means employed to effectuate the conveyance of items varies from roller based systems to continuous loop belt systems.
One typical roller based system uses a plurality of cylindrical rollers mounted between the parallel side walls. The rollers form a conveying surface that operates either passively or may be driven. Roller based conveyor systems work well, but typically suffer from excess noise due to unlubricated or worn bearings. Worn bearings can also cause a roller to roll less easily or not at all, thereby affecting the operability and efficiency of the conveyor system and necessitating repair or replacement. Moreover, stresses placed on individual rollers can, over time, cause their mounting holes to wallow out, thus creating the possibility for a roller to assume a non-parallel orientation with respect to adjacent rollers, which could affect the operability and efficiency of the conveyor system. Finally, due to the tendency for individual rollers or their bearings to wear out and require repair or replacement at varied intervals and because of the effect that individual malfunctioning rollers can have on the roller system as a whole, roller based systems typically suffer from increased and costly downtime for maintenance and repair.
Another typical conveyor system is a continuous loop belt system. Continuous loop belt systems typically use a fabric, rubber, or modular belt tensioned by passive axles and drive axles above, between, or below the conveyor frame. Because many continuous loop belt systems are installed over pre-existing roller systems, the conveying surface of the belt is typically supported by rollers. However, the conveying surface can also be supported by nonmoving wear strips, made or coated with a smooth hard polymer, such as polyethylene, nylon, or the like. Belt systems utilizing rollers for support of the conveying surface suffer from the same drawbacks as typical roller based systems. Additionally, belt systems, whether utilizing rollers or wear strips for conveying surface support, typically suffer from constant realignment of the drive and passive rollers to keep the belt from drifting off of its drive and passive rollers and to keep the belt edges from catching on the side walls of the conveyor frame. To alleviate this problem, the prior art teaches the use of edge guides mounted onto the fixed vertical faces of the conveyor frame or the like. Because the vertical faces of the conveyor frame are typically of a fixed width, the belt must be of a width less than the distance between the edge guides but wide enough to engage the edge guides in a manner to avoid belt drift and belt catching. This type of conveyor system is taught in U.S. Pat. Publication No. 2006/0237292, by Ryan (“Ryan”). Ryan teaches the use of edge guides that are mounted onto vertical walls of a U-shaped pan, which is mounted atop the conveyor frame. While Ryan teaches the use of a width adjustable U-shaped pan, it requires significant adjustment of the U-shaped pan to meet various belt widths. Moreover, if the width of the belt is less than the width of the conveyor frame, the U-shaped pan must be completely repositioned within the conveyor frame, as opposed to being mounted atop the conveyor frame. Although functional, the Ryan approach lacks the ability to quickly and easily change the width of the conveyor belt.
Accordingly, there exists a need for a simple conveyor conversion kit, method and/or apparatus that solves the problems associated with typical roller based and continuous loop based conveyor systems.